Icebox 2
by gryffindork.2007
Summary: After a nasty breakup in freshman year, Troy and Gabriella have just graduated from NYU and Stanford, respectively. When they're both invited to an East High reunion, what will happen? Twoshot.


**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait… this is a companion/sequel to Ice Box but it stands by itself and you don't need to read the first one for this to make sense. I've decided to make this a two-shot because it was better that way. Flashbacks are in italics… and with that said, enjoy and please review! **

**Also, I'd like to dedicate this fic to future.mrs.zac.efron, who cried when she read the first Icebox, and demanded that I owe her a happy sequel... so here it is! I hope, wherever she is, that she likes it!**

**Finally, many many MANY thanks to my wonderful friend cryingcloud15, who helped/betaed this story, I could NOT have done it without you!**  
**  
Disclaimer- I don't own HSM. **

_I'm so cold, I'm so cold, I'm so cold,  
I'm so cold, I'm so cold, I'm so cold _

Twenty-two year old Troy Bolton leaned on his desk, panting and wondering why he ever bought the desk when he knew that eventually, he would have to move out of his college dormitory, therefore having to use all of his strength to push it out with his bare hands. He thought, ' _Funny, it didn't seem as hard to get in as it was to lug it out… I wonder – oh._' He sat for a few seconds, reminiscing on the day four years ago that he and his then-girlfriend-now-ex, Gabriella, had spent an hour pushing the heavy mahogany desk into his then-new college dorm.

Waving the thought away, he jumped off of the desk and started to heave the desk inch by inch in the direction of the door, but after a minute or two, yelled in frustration and kicked the desk with all his might, groaning when he heard the unmistakable sound of breaking glass inside it.

Scowling, he opened the drawer a crack and reached in, only to withdraw his hand quickly as it came in contact with a shard of broken glass, a spot of blood slowly growing on his thumb. "Stupid desk…" he muttered as he opened the drawer fully and carefully withdrew what looked like a dusty glass frame – well, half a glass frame, seeing as the actual frame part was all that was intact – small pieces of glass were now littering the bottom of his drawer. When he turned the frame over, an old photograph fluttered to the ground.

Troy set the frame back inside the drawer, and curiously bent down to grab the photo that had fallen. He picked it up, and sat down on his bed, looking at a picture that his friend Chad had taken around five years ago, when they were seniors at East High.

----

_"Let's go in there, Troy… I need something warm… please?" Gabriella glanced at Troy pleadingly, pointing to a nearby Starbucks. _

_"Do you even need to ask, Gabs?" Laughing, Troy took his girlfriend's gloved hand and they ran across the street. Troy held open the door, and said jokingly, "After you, my lady," _

_Gabriella couldn't help giggling. He looked adorable, standing there with snow falling onto his head, even with a red nose from the cold. She walked into the warm shop, the bell above the door chiming as Troy walked in right after her. She stood still for a moment, breathing in the delicious smell of roasting coffee, and smiling slightly at the sight of all the couples sitting at the small tables in front of them. _

_Both the teenagers ordered drinks, and soon had steaming cardboard cups of coffee clutched in their hands. They sat at one of the tables in silence, occasionally sipping their drinks. This was what Troy loved most about their relationship. Their silence could speak volumes, even though they weren't saying a word. _

_The quiet was broken when Gabriella suddenly broke into a fit of giggles, pointing behind him. "Oh, Troy, look at them, they're so cute!!" _

_Turning around, Troy grinned at the sight of his best friend, Chad Danforth, and his girlfriend, Taylor McKessie, in a full-fledged make out session at a table a little bit further away from where he and Gabriella were sitting. "Whaddya say, Gabi? Should we give them a run for their money?" Troy winked at his blushing girlfriend. _

_Without another thought, he and Gabriella both leaned in for a passionate kiss. After a minute, they pulled apart for air, and just looked at each other, icy blue meeting chocolate brown, and both sets of eyes radiating love for each other. Their faces held small smiles, and the two seniors looked as if they could stay in that exact position forever. _

_A small flash startled them out of their position, and they both turned to see Chad holding a small digital camera, and Taylor exclaiming, "Aww!!! They're so CUTE!!!" _

_----_

_Chad and Taylor each presented Troy and Gabriella with a copy of that very picture, enlarged and framed, at the East High Wildcats: Class of 2009 graduation party. _

Troy sighed when he looked at the picture of him and Gabriella. It had been his favorite picture back then, but now he just wished that their painful relationship would disappear from his past completely. He remembered every detail of their relationship… the day of their spring musical, their first kiss only shortly after that, their first real date, the first time she had ever yelled at him, when she came to visit him and found him with another girl, their breakup… everything.

He stared at the picture, wishing that he could dive in, and be that same, carefree, loving teenager that he used to be. After Gabriella, no other girl ever felt right, and he didn't want them to feel right either. Sure, he went out on meaningless dates, had a couple of flings, but that was exactly what they were – meaningless. Those relationships hadn't ever lasted more than a couple of weeks each, save for one, with a girl named Alison… that had lasted for 5 months until they decided to break it off.

Troy's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a chime from his laptop, which was currently resting on the floor, signifying that he had received an email.

Shrugging and figuring that he could use a break from his unsuccessful attempt to haul the desk from the room, Troy flopped down on the floor and quickly logged on to his email account, and opened the single new message in his inbox.

**From**

**Subject:** CLASS REUNION

To **all East High Class of 2009 graduates**,

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:**

There will be an East High Graduating Class Of '09 Reunion on July 8th, 2013 for all East High Wildcats Of 2009! Hopefully all of you have completed your four years of college with flying colors, and are now well on your way to a successful future! You are welcome to bring any close friends or family including such which you might have gained in these past four years (ex: boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancée, spouse, children.) Hope to see every one of you there!!!

**What:** East High Graduating Class of '09 reunion

**When:** July 8th , 2013

**Where:** Old Ebbit Grill (1605 Meridian Road, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 30657) Directions to the grill from East High are attached.

**Black Tie Event**

**Food, Friends, and Family!**

**$20 per person, $10 for ages 9 and under**

Hope you can make it!

East High Wildcats

--End Message—

Troy stared at the message for a few moments, urgent thoughts running through his head. '_Who was going?' _And more importantly, '_What if Gabriella was there?' _Blinking and shaking his head, he grabbed his cell phone from it's charger on the bedside table, brought his laptop to the bed, and sat on the edge, dialing Chad.

"Yo." Chad picked up on the first ring. "Troy, what's up, man?"

Troy found his voice. "Did you get the email?" he asked hoarsely.

"The reunion one? From East High?" Chad clarified.

"Yeah," Troy answered. "So you got it?"

Chad laughed. "Yeah, I got it. So you going?"

Troy was silent for a minute before answering his friend's question. "Maybe," he said finally.

"Oh!" Chad said, realization finally dawning on him. "Is it…"

"Yes." Troy muttered, his voice strained. "Do you know if Gabriella's going to be there?"

Chad's voice was understanding when he answered. "Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke Kelsi and Taylor are… I would assume she is too. I don't know, but I can ask Taylor for you."

Even four years after high school, Chad and Taylor were still dating and going strong. Taylor and Gabriella attended Stanford together and were still good friends, while Chad was also in California, at UCLA. Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke and of course Troy were the ones who had opted to go to school on the East Coast. Ryan and Sharpay were also in New York, both at Julliard, while Zeke was at the University of Maryland, and Kelsi at a small school in Maine. They all got together once in a while, maybe twice a year, but he saw Sharpay and Ryan the most because they were the closest. He'd seen Chad on the last vacation from school, since they'd all gone home to Albuquerque, but he and Gabriella had avoided each other and hadn't had any awkward encounters… yet. He knew from their common friends of her whereabouts and general news, but it wasn't much.

"Thanks," Troy replied, his throat dry.

"Do you want to see her again?" Chad asked. For a usually oblivious guy, his question was right on target.

"I don't know," Troy said honestly. "In a way I do and in a way I don't."

"Remember, you were the one who cheated on her," Chad advised. Girls don't like to be cheated on," he continued knowledgably.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Chad." Troy snapped sarcastically. "No _shit_ they don't like to be cheated on."

Chad whistled under his breath. "Well, excuse _me. Someone's _moody."

Troy ignored the comment, deciding to save his energy for something constructive, namely moving the desk. "I gotta go, dude. I'll talk to you later." Without waiting for a reply, he pressed the _end _button on the phone and tossed it aside in impatience, staring up at the ceiling, his head suddenly hurting.

A few seconds later he got up, turned away from his laptop with a sigh and fingered the broken frame that he had set on his bed. Massaging the back of his neck, he carefully slid the picture out and laid it down, smoothing it out absently, and then tossed the frame into the trash. Maybe things would change… or would they?

-----------------

Across the country, in California, Stanford University to be exact, Gabriella Montez was also clearing her dorm room of all her possessions that had occupied it for the past four years. As she stripped the flowered sheets off her twin size bed, pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she groaned silently. She had been at it for nearly three hours already and still she was nowhere close to done. Her roommate, Kate, had been smart and cleaned out her stuff the previous weekend before classes had officially ended, and then crashed at a friend's apartment for the last three days of college. And now, on the last day, Gabriella was stuck cleaning out the room alone. Finally she forced the sheets of the bed and into a black trash bag, then labeled it neatly.

Now that that task was finished, she decided to tackle the drawers, a relatively easy job since all she had to do was sort the clothes in them and put them into bags. Twenty minutes later, she was almost done, with only the bottom drawer to go. She opened it and reached in, folding a few pairs of pants and a skirt, and finally, as she was closing it, a small, folded wedge of paper at the far corner of the drawer caught her eye. Curiously she pulled it out and unfolded it, then paled.

It was Troy. No, more realistically, it was a picture of her and Troy. It had been taken in a Starbucks, it must have been four years ago now. Gabriella let a small smile pass her lips, remembering the day that the photo had been taken. They had just finished making out and Taylor and Chad, also in the café, had snuck up behind them and taken the picture. Taylor and Chad had each given them a copy at graduation from East High. Vaguely, she wondered if Troy still had his copy, and then, her eyes widening in surprise, she pushed him from her mind, smoothed the picture, placed it onto the top of the dresser, and turned back to her work.

She finished a half hour later, a small smile playing at her lips as she surveyed the room. It was stripped bare now, all her belongings in suitcases, duffel bags or trash bags, all carefully labeled in her neat handwriting in black Sharpie.

With a relieved sigh, she sank onto the now-uncovered mattress and yanked out her cell phone to give Taylor a call. Taylor had also attended Stanford, although she lived in another dorm, and the two saw each other often, and even had some classes together. The phone rang for a few moments before she picked up.

"Hello?" Taylor sounded breathless as she spoke.

"Tay," Gabriella smiled into the phone. "I finished packing! You?"

Taylor groaned. "Don't get me started."

Gabriella giggled. "I can help you if you want. I'm done."

Taylor let out a breath. "It's okay." She was silent for a few minutes before speaking quickly. "Gabriella?" Without waiting for Gabriella to answer, she continued. "Are you going to the East High reunion?"

"Yeah, I think so," Gabriella said thoughtfully. She'd gotten the email a few days ago, and since she would be in Albuquerque for the summer, visiting her mother before starting at her new job in California, she had decided to go. It would be fun to see all her old friends, both the ones she had kept in touch with and the ones she hadn't.

Taylor was quiet for so long that Gabriella thought the line had been disconnected. "Taylor?" she asked loudly. " Tay, are you there?"

"I'm here." Taylor's voice was small as she answered, but her next words made Gabriella's whole body go stiff. "Gabi, I just talked to Chad… and…" she trailed off.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked impatiently, having a sinking feeling that she knew what it was.

"Um…"

"Taylor!" Gabriella's tone was sharp and urgent.

"Troy's going to be there," Taylor's voice came through the phone in a rush, confirming Gabriella's suspicions. " Chad asked him."

Even though that was what she had been expecting, Gabriella felt her blood turn to ice. "Oh."

Taylor sounded guilty. "If you don't go, I'll stay with you, if you want," she offered hopelessly.

"It's okay," Gabriella said brightly, forcing herself to sound chipper for Taylor. "I'll… think about what to do. I, um, have to go," she lied. "Bye!" Without waiting for Taylor to say anything, she hung up, dropping her phone onto the carpeted floor.

However, as soon as she had ended the call, she instantly started to sweat, twisting her hands painfully around each other in her nervousness. _What if she saw him? What if he_ _avoided her? What if he brought another girl?_ She sat in a daze on the bed for a minute, then regained her composure and wandered a few steps down the hall to the bathroom so she could wash her face.

The cold water that she splashed on her face calmed her and she started to think about the reunion in a more rational manner. Even if he was there, she reasoned, it didn't mean they had to talk or make up. They could just… avoid each other like they had when they'd both gone back to Albuquerque for spring break. Gabriella wasn't going to let Troy stop her plans to see everyone… there was no reason to. And even if she saw him, it wasn't like she had to _talk _to him or anything.

Sighing, she turned back to re-enter her room, and did a final check, then noticing the picture that she had removed from her drawer, still on the tabletop. She ran her hands over the picture, almost wistfully, and finally refolded it and tucked it into her purse.

Who knew what would happen?


End file.
